hand knit designs and hand dyed yarns for adults, children and the home

A New(ish) Sock Obsession!

As I work to get my rear back in gear, I have been dyeing yarn when the inspiration hits, and knitting more again. I have been a sock knitter for years, and have pretty much worked my standard pattern that I learned and modified from a German pattern back in the 90’s. I have always used US size 2.5 (3mm) needles, two circulars – my poor busted Addi Turbos, they take a knockin’ and keep on rockin’! That said, I decided to make this my “Year of Socks,” with a number of facets, including the following:

1 – Work some other patterns, not just my Big Foot Socks! Now, this was probably the hardest hurtle for me because, frankly, I love my Big Foot Socks. I love they way they look; I love they way they wear; I love the way they work up (honestly, if it ain’t broke. . .) So I chose a few patterns that appealed to me, including Tootsie Rolls by Lisa K. Ross, Smooth Operator Socks by Susan B. Anderson, Rose City Rollers and Jelly Rolls by Mara Catherine Bryner, and finally, Afterthought Everything by Erica Kempf Broughton. Needless to say, I’m totally digging other peoples’ patterns 😬 and have been cranking away and getting happier every day! Who’da thunk it?

2 – Work with some smaller needles and see what happens! I approached my first “smaller needle” project with some trepidation, having dreams that I would have horrible hand cramps that could only be relieved by long hand massages and ibuprofen. Boy was I wrong! I broke out my Tootsie Rolls pattern, and got to work. The needles (Chiaogoo Red Lace in US size 1 (2.25mm) were a dream to work with, made for a nice dense fabric, and best of all, NO HAND CRAMPS!

3 – Find a different use for my yarn leftovers – NO MORE MONSTER SOCKS! I needed to find a better use for the bits, and thanks to a wonderful Scandinavian woman in a Facebook group I’m in, I have been able to adjust my eye and see other possibilities. Below you will see a hybrid sock I’m working on that melds two entirely different yarns to make one incredible sock! I am also blending two (or more) yarns by alternating rounds, and that works up some socky magic, lemme tell ‘ya!

4 – The Great Webb Family Sock Project! We have a bunch of us in the family, and everybody’s getting new socks this year! Not all will be Big Foot Socks this year, people, I need to be entertained too!

Daddy’s are done, and Mommy’s are working! (man, that’s a pointy heel 🙄 blocking will fix that noise)

Yeah, it’s all about the socks for the moment, and I’m having a blast. Summer vacation will have me finishing Mommy’s socks, some socks for The Hubs, some striped socks from a sock blank I dyed last month, and a pair for my sister, Tracey, and I just can’t wait!